Raab
A surname that can be German in origin, often linked to the raven nickname Rabe or to a shortened pet form built from old German personal names.
The #6,514 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,283 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources point mainly to German origins. One common explanation treats Raab as a spelling variant or dialect form of Rabe, the German word for "raven," used as a nickname. Another line of explanation, suggested by old name-formation studies, connects it with pet forms of Germanic personal names, though that is less certain from the excerpts alone.
History
The name is found in German-speaking areas and appears in older surname collections alongside forms such as Rabe, Rabl, and Raaber. Some dictionaries grouped it with nickname surnames, while others treated it as part of broader clusters of short German name forms. In modern usage it survives as a relatively uncommon surname, including in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes linked Raab with the raven nickname because German Rabe means "raven," a bird long used in European nicknaming.
From the historical record
“RaAB. See Rabe. RABBIT. Perhaps from some fancied resemblance to that animal. Hahett is,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Raab
- Dominic Raab (b. 1974)
- Stefan Raab (b. 1966)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.